In the two great epics of India, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, which recreate the desire images of what men and women ought to be, we see the spontaneous urges of the people for free love, and the worship of sex symbols, as the sources of fulfilment, transformed into a prescribed ritual as part of the Hindu Dharmic order.
These habitual repetitions had for centuries made the Slokas, verses, more and more rigid. The caste order imposed on the Dasyus had ironed out the variety of ways of life. The high-bred fictions of super-consciousness led to Mount Kailash in the mists. Below, the Dasyus worshipped the Mother Goddess in secret. She came to be called Lajja Gauri, Shy Woman, with her head cut off, replaced by a garland of leaves, creepers and red oxide of mercury on her pudenda and breasts, and she was prayed to for children in forest shrines, away from the vigilance of the high priests.
The Kamasutra was probably first put into writing in the third century before Christ, during the Mauryan Period. At this time, some of the great sages seem to have taken an interest in love and sexuality, integral aspects of family life.
Vatsyayana obviously did not write the Kamasutra himself. Love-making was alive and well in India long before him. But he did amalgamate many different texts into one corpus. Vatsyayana himself clearly states this in the very first chapter of the book: Salutation to Dharma, Artha and Kama.
In the beginning, the Lord of Beings created men and women, and in the form of commandments in one hundred thousand chapters laid down rules for regulating their existence with regard to Dharma, Artha, and Kama. Some of these commandments, namely those which treated of Dharma, were separately written by Swayambhu Manu; those that related to Artha were compiled by Brihaspati; and those that referred to Kama were expounded by Nandikeshvara, the follower of Mahadeva, in one thousand chapters.
Now these kamasutras, Aphorisms of Love, written by Nandikeshvara in one thousand chapters, were reproduced by Shvetaketu, the son of Uddalaka, in an abbreviated form in five hundred chapters, and this work was again similarly reproduced in an abridged form, in one hundred and fifty chapters, by Babhravya, an inhabitant of the Panchala, south of Indraprashta [Delhi].
These one hundred and fifty chapters were then put together under seven heads:. Sadharana, general principles Samprayogika, love play, sexual union Kanya Samprayuktaka, courtship and marriage Bharyadhikarika, the wife Paradarika, seducing the wives of others Vaishika, the prostitute Aupanishadika, secret lore, extraneous stimulation and sexual power.
The book on Vaishika, the sixth heading in this work, was separately expounded by Dattaka at the request of the courtesans of Pataliputra, Patna.
In the same manner Charayana explained the first heading. Thus the work being written in parts by different authors was almost unobtainable and, as the parts which were expounded by Dattaka and others treated only of the particular branches of the subject to which each part related, and moreover as the original work of Babhravya was difficult to be mastered on account of its length, Vatsyayana therefore, composed his work in a small volume as an abstract of the whole of the works of the above-named authors.
Apart from the modest avowal that he was merely a later compiler, Vatsyayana was trying to sanctify his work about the pleasures of love between man and woman. The story goes that the young Brahmin Shvetaketu went to a seminar held by the Kuru-Panchalas, somewhere near Indraprashta and lost an argument he had with a Kshatriya called Pravahana Jaivali. Discomfited, he asked his father, the sage Uddalaka, about the problem. Uddalaka did not know the answers and humbly asked Jaivali to instruct his son, Shvetaketu.
Thereupon Jaivali became the guru of the young Brahmin and taught him many things, including all that he knew about the man and woman relationship. Uddalaka himself seems to have become interested in this theme and is referred to in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad as an authority on sex relations. For those who find it odd that rishis were commenting upon sexuality, it must be noted that in ancient India, the saints and sages were not limited in knowing to just the shastras.
They were holders and receptacles of every kind of knowledge. Indeed, there is a whole tradition of Kama Shastra or the texts related to love and sexuality before Vatsyayana. He mentions the compendium of Babhravya, known as the author of Kama-Patha of the Rigveda, who was an author from Panchala, south of Indraprashta, to whom he owed much of his information. Dattaka, referred to as the specialist on courtesans, was obviously a Nagaraka of Pataliputra, a frequenter of the houses of courtesans, such as resided in every capital from early times, an institution of elegant women, who taught good manners and civilized arts to young princes and nobles.
Vatsyayana respectfully mentions his debt to other scholars like Kuchumara, Gonikaputra and Ghotakamukha. By invoking the names of these ancient sages, Vatsyayana lays emphasis on the sacredness of the theme on which he had begun to work.
But Kama being a thing which is practis- ed, even by the brute creation, and which is to be found everywhere, does not need any work on the subject. The non-application of proper means, which we see in the brute creations, is caused by their being unrestrained, and by the females among them only being fit for sexual inter- course at certain seasons and no more, and by their intercourse not being preceded by thought of any kind. He answers other challenges: The Lokayatikas, who are materialists, believe that a pigeon today is better than a peacock tomorrow, object to religious injunctions because the practice of these may bring some fruit or may not be fruitful at all.
For many other reasons. A person who does nothing will enjoy no happiness. Pleasures should not be sought for, because they are obstacles to the practice of Dharma and Artha, which are both superior to them, and are also disliked by meritorious persons.
Pleasures also bring a man into distress, and into contact with low persons; they cause him to commit unrighteous deeds and produce impurity in him; they make him regardless of the future and encourage carelessness and levity.
Plus, if you two are drastically different heights, this is a great option, since it puts you both at the same height.
Make It Hotter: Try bringing your legs down and placing your feet on their chest, in front of their shoulders. This allows you to control the tempo and depth of thrusts. Do It: Your partner sits and you sit on top of them, facing away. Why: It helps you regulate the pace and intensity of the thrusts. Make It Hotter: Try doing it on the stairs or the edge of the tub.
Takes a bit of talent Wrap your legs around them and hug each other for support. Why: Best for tantric sex. Rocking, not thrusting, is the key when it comes to this very intimate position. Do It: You straddle them, wrapping your legs around their body they keep their knees unlocked and thighs spread slightly. They stand and support you in their arms. You can start on the bed and have them pick you up without disengaging. Or for the truly bold, you can hop aboard from standing position!
Why: This is the position of every steamy romance movie Make It Hotter: Have them push you up against a wall—very carefully. Do It: Sit on the bed with legs toward one another, arms back to support yourselves. Now move together and onto their penis or strap-on. Your hips will be between their spread legs, your knees bent, and feet outside of their hips and flat on the bed. Now rock back and forth.
Why: You can still maintain eye contact while viewing the action at center stage. Or they can remain seated upright and pull you against their chest into the Lazy Man position. Do It: Sit on the bed facing each other with legs forward. Come together so they can enter you. Now both of you lie back, your legs forming an X. Slow, leisurely gyrations replace thrusting.
Why: Prolonged slow sex that will build your arousal. Shallow thrusts stimulate the nerve endings in the head of their penis, if they have one. Make It Hotter: Reach out and hold hands to pull together for pelvic thrusting. Also, take turns alternatively sitting up and lying back without changing the rhythm.
Now straddle their waist, feet on the bed. Bend your knees to lower yourself onto them, using one hand to direct the penis or strap-on in. Just by pressing on the balls of your feet and releasing, you can raise and lower yourself onto the shaft as slowly or as quickly as you please.
Why: This position puts you in control, and maintains plenty of intimacy. Think of their penis or strap-on as a masturbatory tool, something to rub and stimulate your clitoris with and against.
Make It Hotter: From this position, you both can lie back into the Spider position or its more challenging variation, the Good Ex.
Do It: Lie on your back and have your partner straddle you facing away. Lift your legs and wrap them around their back to elevate your pelvis so they can enter you. Grab their butt to help them slide up and back. Add a little massage action to your grip.
Why: You get a prime view of their cute butt. Plus, from this position, you have easy access to fondle their testicles or clitoris. Not to mention, their pelvis is perfectly positioned to grind against your clit. Make It Hotter: Have them spin around into missionary style to face you while trying to stay inserted. Then switch positions, this time with you on top and facing away. Do It: Have your partner sit cross-legged and climb into their lap, facing them, with your legs wrapped around their back.
Have your partner enter you and grind up against their pelvis. Why: This position allows for some major face-to-face intimacy. Make It Hotter: Ask them to lick your nipples and let their hands roam. And roam You get the idea. Do It: Lie down on your stomach, and have your partner lie down on top of you and slide in from behind. Why: This position allows for super-deep penetration, and a snug fit which can feel great for you and your partner.
Make It Hotter: You can reach back and wrap your hand around the shaft to help control how deep they get or change up the angle of your butt for the same effect. Do It: This position is just like cowgirl, but with a twist. Climb on top and have your partner enter you. Then, lean back and place your hands on the bed for support, creating a degree angle with your partner's legs. Why: This change in angle helps target your G-spot even more, and gives you control over the speed and depth of thrusts.
Plus, your partner has easy access to your clitoris. Push your fingers down in a rocking motion. Do It: With both of you standing, you bend over at the waist; they enter you from behind. Why: Bending over during this sex position helps make the vaginal walls tighter and increases the intensity of the friction. Make It Hotter: Have your partner tickle your clitoris with a free hand, or loosely tie your hands together with a silky scarf.
Do It: Lie on your stomach with your hands thrust between your legs. Grind your legs together and move your hips up and down so that your clitoris and pubic mound rub against your firmly held fingers. Do It: With your body submerged and legs dangling out of the tub, start by giving yourself a rubdown up top before you move down to roam around under the water.
Why: Relaxing in a warm, sweet-smelling bath helps relieve tension, ease stress, and definitely gets you in the mood. Make It Hotter: Add in a waterproof vibe to make waves or take advantage of your detachable shower head may I recommend the "pulse" setting? Steady streams of water on the clitoris can be extremely pleasurable. Do It: Holding a hand mirror, sit in a comfortable chair with one leg propped up on the bed or couch. Now that you can check out the goods, venture away from your sensitive clitoris to discover new erogenous zones.
Explore the opening, inside, and back wall of your vagina with your fingers, pressing and changing pressure until you find something that feels right. Why: It may seem elementary, but you get a new point of view. You may learn a new way to "ring your bell," which can help alleviate the frustration many women feel when they can come in only one position. Make It Hotter: Try it with your favorite sex toy, or have your partner slide in from the Seashell or Butter Churner position.
Start slowly and increase speed and pressure, depending on your reaction. Sometimes you can rely on established design conventions: in academic writing, there are specific guidelines for headings, margins, and line spacing. No matter what your text includes, its design will influence how your audience responds to it and therefore how well it achieves your purpose.
To keep readers oriented as they browse multipage documents or websites, use design elements consistently. In a print academic essay, choose a single font for your main text and use boldface or italics for headings. In writing for the web, place navigation buttons and other major elements in the same place on every page. Keep it simple. Resist the temptation to fill pages with unnecessary graphics or animations.
Aim for balance. Create balance through the use of margins, images, headings, and spacing. Use color and contrast carefully. Academic readers usually expect black text on a white background, with perhaps one other color for headings. Make sure your audience will be able to distinguish any color variations in your text well enough to grasp your meaning. Use available templates. To save time and simplify design decisions, take advantage of templates.
In Microsoft Word, for example, you can customize font, spacing, indents, and other features that will automatically be applied to your document. Websites that host personal webpages and presentation software also offer templates that you can use or modify. The following guidelines will help you make those decisions. The fonts you choose will affect how well readers can read your text. Decorative fonts such as should be used sparingly. If you use more than one font, use each one consistently: one for headings, one for captions, one for the main body of your text.
Every common font has regular, bold, and italic forms. Layout is the way text is arranged on a page. An academic essay, for example, will usually have a title centered at the top and one-inch margins all around. Items such as lists, tables, headings, and images should be arranged consistently. Line spacing. In general, indent paragraphs five spaces when your text is double-spaced; either indent or skip a line between paragraphs that are single-spaced.
When preparing a text intended for online use, single-space your document, skip a line between paragraphs, and begin each paragraph flush left no indent. Use a list format for information that you want to set off and make easily accessible. Number the items when the sequence matters in instructions, for example ; use bullets when the order is not important.
Set off lists with an extra line of space above and below, and add extra space between the items on a list if necessary for legibility. White space and margins. To make your text attractive and readable, use white space to separate its various parts. In general, use one-inch margins for the text of an essay or report. Headings make the structure of a text easier to follow and help readers find specific information. Whenever you include headings, you need to decide how to phrase them, what fonts to use, and where to position them.
Phrase headings consistently. Make your headings succinct and parallel in structure. Whatever form you decide on, use it consistently. Make headings visible. Position headings appropriately. If you are not following a prescribed format, you get to decide where to position the headings: centered, flush with the left margin, or even alongside the text, in a wide lefthand margin.
Position each level of head consistently. In print documents, you can often use photos, charts, graphs, and diagrams. Online or in spoken presentations, your options expand to include video and printed handouts. A discussion of Google Glass might be clearer when accompanied by this photo. Tables are useful for displaying numerical information concisely, especially when several items are being compared.
Presenting information in columns and rows permits readers to find data and identify relationships among the items. Pie charts can be used to show how a whole is divided into parts or how parts of a whole relate to one another. Percentages in a pie chart should always add up to Plotting the lines together enables readers to compare the data at different points in time. Be sure to label the x and y axes and limit the number of lines to four at the most.
Some software offers 3-D and other special effects, but simple graphs are often easier to read. Diagrams and flowcharts are ways of showing relationships and processes.
This diagram shows how carbon moves between the Earth and its atmosphere. Flowcharts can be made by using widely available templates; diagrams, on the other hand, can range from simple drawings to works of art. Avoid clip art. Position images as close as possible to the relevant discussion. Italian Economic Growth Rate, — If you use data to create a graph or chart, include source information directly below. Large files may be hard to upload without altering quality and can clog email inboxes.
Linking also allows readers to see the original context. To include your own video, upload it to YouTube; choose the Private setting to limit access. Be sure to represent the original content accurately, and provide relevant information about the source. Whatever the occasion, you need to make your points clear and memorable. This chapter offers guidelines to help you prepare and deliver effective presentations.
Spoken texts need a clear organization so that your audience can follow you. The beginning needs to engage their interest, make clear what you will talk about, and perhaps forecast the central points of your talk. The ending should leave your audience something to remember, think about, or do.
In the Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln follows a chronological structure. A tone to suit the occasion. In a presentation to a panel of professors, you probably would want to avoid too much slang and speak in complete sentences. Slides and other media. Organize and draft your presentation. If in drafting you find you have too many points for the time available, leave out the less important ones.
Thank your listeners, and offer to take questions and comments if the format allows. Consider whether to use visuals. Remember, though, that visuals should be a means of conveying information, not mere decoration. You then offer only a brief introduction and answer questions. What visual tools if any you decide to use is partly determined by how your presentation will be delivered: face to face?
You may also have to move furniture or the screen to make sure everyone can see your visuals. Finally, have a backup plan. Computers fail; the internet may not work. Have an alternative in case of problems. Presentation software. Here are some tips for writing and designing slides. Use slides to emphasize your main points, not to reproduce your talk.
A list of brief points, presented one by one, reinforces your words; charts and images can provide additional information that the audience can take in quickly. On slides, sans serif fonts like Arial and Helvetica are easier to read than serif fonts like Times New Roman. Your text and illustrations need to contrast with the background. Dark content on a light background is easier to see and read than the reverse. Decorative backgrounds, letters that fade in and out or dance across the screen, and sound effects can be more distracting than helpful; use them only if they help to make your point.
Indicate in your notes each place where you need to advance to the next slide. Label handouts with your name and the date and title of the presentation. Practice, practice, and then practice some more. Your audience will respond positively to that confidence. If possible, practice with a small group of friends to get used to having an audience. Speak clearly. Pause for emphasis. In writing, you have white space and punctuation to show readers where an idea or discussion ends.
Stand up or sit up straight, and look at your audience. Use gestures for emphasis. To overcome any nervousness and stiffness, take some deep breaths, try to relax, and move your arms and the rest of your body as you would if you were talking to a friend. To read an example presentation, go to digital. This chapter provides a description of the key elements of an essay that argues a position and tips for writing one.
To be arguable, a position must reflect one of at least two points of view, making reasoned argument necessary: file sharing should or should not be considered fair use; selling human organs should be legal or illegal.
Necessary background information. Sometimes, we need to provide some background on a topic so that readers can understand what is being argued. To argue that file sharing should be considered fair use, for example, you might begin by describing the rise in file sharing and explaining fair-use laws. Good reasons. By itself, a position does not make an argument; the argument comes when a writer offers reasons to support the position. You might base an argument in favor of legalizing the sale of human organs on the fact that transplants save lives and that regulation would protect impoverished people who currently sell their organs on the black market.
Convincing evidence. For example, to support your position that fast food should be taxed, you might cite a nutrition expert who links obesity to fast food, offer facts that demonstrate the health-care costs of widespread obesity, and provide statistics that show how taxation affects behavior. Careful consideration of other positions. No matter how reasonable you are in arguing your position, others may disagree or hold other positions. Widely debated topics such as animal rights or gun control can be difficult to write on if you have no personal connection to them.
Better topics include those that interest you right now, are focused, and have some personal connection to your life. Identify issues that interest you. Pick a few of the roles you list, and identify the issues that interest or concern you. Try wording each issue as a question starting with should: Should college cost less than it does? Should student achievement be measured by standardized tests?
What would be better than standardized tests for measuring student achievement? This strategy will help you think about the issue and find a clear focus for your essay. Choose one issue to write about. Generating ideas and text. Most essays that successfully argue a position share certain features that make them interesting and persuasive. Consider what interests you about the topic and what more you may need to learn in order to write about it. It may help to do some preliminary research; start with one general source of information a news magazine or Wikipedia, for example to find out the main questions raised about your issue and to get some ideas about how you might argue it.
There are various ways to qualify your thesis: in certain circumstances, under certain conditions, with these limitations, and so on. You need to convince your readers that your thesis is plausible.
Start by stating your position and then answering the question why? This analysis can continue indefinitely as the underlying reasons grow more and more general and abstract. Identify other positions. Think about positions that differ from yours and about the reasons that might be given for those positions. To refute other positions, state them as clearly and as fairly as you can, and then show why you believe they are wrong.
Perhaps the reasoning is faulty or the supporting evidence is inadequate. Acknowledge their merits, if any, but emphasize their shortcomings. Ways of organizing an argument. Alternatively, you might discuss each reason and any counterargument to it together. And be sure to consider the order in which you discuss your reasons.
Usually, what comes last makes the strongest impression on readers, and what comes in the middle makes the weakest impression. End with Give the a call to second action, a reason, with support. To read an example argument essay, go to digital. This chapter describes the key elements of an essay that analyzes a text and provides tips for writing one.
Your readers may not know the text you are analyzing, so you need to include it or tell them about it before you can analyze it. Attention to the context. All texts are part of ongoing conversations, controversies, or debates, so to understand a text, you need to understand its larger context.
To analyze the lyrics of a new hip-hop song, you might need to introduce other artists that the lyrics refer to or explain how the lyrics relate to aspects of hip-hop culture. A clear interpretation or judgment. When you interpret something, you explain what you think it means. In an analysis of a cologne advertisement, you might explain how the ad encourages consumers to objectify themselves. Reasonable support for your conclusions. You might support your interpretation by quoting passages from a written text or referring to images in a visual text.
Most of the time, you will be assigned a text or a type of text to analyze: the work of a political philosopher in a political science class, a speech in a history or communications course, a painting or sculpture in an art class, and so on. You might also analyze three or four texts by examining elements common to all.
In analyzing a text, your goal is to understand what it says, how it works, and what it means. To do so, you may find it helpful to follow a certain sequence for your analysis: read, respond, summarize, analyze, and draw conclusions. Read to see what the text says. Start by reading carefully, noting the main ideas, key words and phrases, and anything that seems noteworthy or questionable.
Do you find the text difficult? Do you agree with what the writer says? Decide what you want to analyze. Think about what you find most interesting about the text and why.
Does the language interest you? You might begin your analysis by exploring what attracted your notice. Think about the larger context. All texts are part of larger conversations, and academic texts include documentation partly to weave in voices from the conversation. Does he or she respond to something others have said? Is there any terminology that suggests that he or she is allied with a particular intellectual school or academic discipline?
Words like false consciousness or hegemony, for instance, would suggest that the text was written by a Marxist scholar. Consider what you know about the writer or artist.
The credentials, other work, reputation, stance, and beliefs of the person who created the text are all useful windows into understanding it. Write a sentence or two summarizing what you know about the creator and how that information affects your understanding of the text.
Visual texts might be made up of images, lines, angles, color, light and shadow, and sometimes words. Look for patterns in the way these elements are used. Write a sentence or two describing the patterns you discover and how they contribute to what the text says.
Analyze the argument. What is the main point the writer is trying to make? Are the reasons plausible and sufficient? Are the arguments appropriately qualified? How credible and current are they? After considering these questions, write a sentence or two summarizing the argument and your reactions to it.
Come up with a thesis. Do you want to show that the text has a certain meaning? Your analysis might be structured in at least two ways. You might discuss patterns or themes that run through the text.
Alternatively, you might analyze each text or section of text separately. State your thesis. To read an example rhetorical analysis, go to digital.
Newspapers report on local and world events; textbooks give information about biology, history, writing; websites provide information about products jcrew. Very often this kind of writing calls for research: you need to know your subject in order to report on it. This chapter describes the key elements found in most reports and offers tips for writing one.
Accurate, well-researched information. Reports usually require some research. The kind of research depends on the topic. Library research may be necessary for some topics—for a report on migrant laborers during the Great Depression, for example.
Most current topics, however, require internet research. For a report on local farming, for example, you might interview some local farmers. Various writing strategies. For example, a report on the benefits of exercise might require that you classify types of exercise, analyze the effects of each type, and compare the benefits of each. For a report on the financial crisis for a general audience, for example, you might need to define terms such as mortgage-backed security and predatory lending.
Appropriate design. Numerical data, for instance, can be easier to understand in a table than in a paragraph. A photograph can help readers see a subject, such as an image of someone texting while driving in a report on car accidents.
If you get to choose your topic, consider what interests you and what you wish you knew more about. They may be academic in nature or reflect your personal interests, or both. Even if an assignment seems to offer little flexibility, you will need to decide how to research the topic and how to develop your report to appeal to your audience.
And sometimes even narrow topics can be shaped to fit your own interests. Start with sources that can give you a general sense of the subject, such as a Wikipedia entry or an interview with an expert. Your goal at this point is to find topics to report on and then to focus on one that you will be able to cover.
Come up with a tentative thesis. Once you narrow your topic, write out a statement saying what you plan to report on or explain.
Think about what kinds of information will be most informative for your audience, and be sure to consult multiple sources and perspectives. Revisit and finalize your thesis in light of your research findings. Ways of organizing a report [Reports on topics that are unfamiliar to readers] Begin Explain by with an anecdote, quote, or other means of interesting comparing, Provide background, and state your thesis.
Describe classifying, your topic, analyzing defining causes or any key effects, terms. Conclude by restating your thesis or referring to your beginning.
Conclude by topic; provide any necessary background information; state your Narrate the second event or procedure. Narrate the third event or procedure. Repeat as necessary. Conclude by restating your Repeat as necessary.
To read an example report, go to digital. Parents read their children bedtime stories as an evening ritual. Preachers base their sermons on religious stories to teach lessons about moral behavior. Grandparents tell how things used to be, sometimes telling the same stories year after year. College applicants write about significant moments in their lives. Writing students are often called on to compose narratives to explore their personal experiences.
This chapter describes the key elements of personal narratives and provides tips for writing one. Most narratives set up some sort of situation that needs to be resolved. That need for resolution makes readers want to keep reading. Vivid detail. Details can bring a narrative to life by giving readers vivid mental images of the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures of the world in which your story takes place.
To give readers a picture of your childhood home in the country, you might describe the gnarled apple trees in your backyard and the sound of crickets chirping on a spring night.
You may reveal its significance in various ways, but try not to state it too directly, as if it were a kind of moral of the story. Describe the setting. List the places where your story unfolds. Think about the key people. Narratives include people whose actions play an important role in the story. Try narrating the action using active and specific verbs pondered, shouted, laughed to capture what happened.
Consider the significance. You need to make clear why the event you are writing about matters. How did it change or otherwise affect you? What aspects of your life now can you trace to that event? How might your life have been different if this event had not happened? Ways of organizing a personal narrative. Tell about what happened. Say how Say the conflict something was about the resolved.
Fill in details: setting, people, specific actions. Make clear how the situation was resolved. Say something about the significance. To read an example narrative, go to digital. In both cases, you go below the surface to deepen your understanding of how the texts work and what they mean. This chapter describes the key elements expected in most literary analyses and provides tips for writing one. Your thesis, then, should be arguable.
You might argue, for example, that the dialogue between two female characters in a short story reflects current stereotypes about gender roles. Careful attention to the language of the text.
Attention to patterns or themes. Literary analyses are usually built on evidence of meaningful patterns or themes within a text or among several texts.
When you write a literary analysis, you show one way the text may be understood, using evidence from the text and, sometimes, relevant contextual evidence to support what you think the text means. MLA style. Start by considering whether your assignment specifies a particular kind of analysis or critical approach. Look for words that say what to do: analyze, compare, interpret, and so on.
Choose a method for analyzing the text. Trace the development and expression of themes, characters, and language through the work. How do they help to create particular meaning, tone, or effects? Explore the way the text affects you as you read through it. Read closely, noticing how the elements of the text shape your responses, both intellectual and emotional. How has the author evoked your response? Read the work more than once.
When you first experience a piece of literature, you usually focus on the story, the plot, the overall meaning. Compose a strong thesis. Your goal is not to pass judgment but to suggest one way of seeing the text. Do a close reading. Find specific, brief passages that support your interpretation; then analyze those passages in terms of their language, their context, and your reaction to them as a reader.
Why does the writer choose this language, these words? What is their effect? If something is repeated, what significance does the pattern have? Support your argument with evidence. The parts of the text you examine in your close reading become the evidence you use to support your interpretation. Paying attention to matters of style. Literary analyses have certain conventions for using pronouns and verbs. Describe the historical context of the setting in the past tense.
Document your sources. To read an example literary analysis, go to digital. Lovers propose marriage; students propose that colleges provide healthier food options in campus cafeterias.
These are all examples of proposals, ideas put forward that offer solutions to some problem. All proposals are arguments: when you propose something, you are trying to persuade others to consider—and hopefully to accept—your solution to the problem. This chapter describes the key elements of a proposal and provides tips for writing one. Some problems are self-evident and relatively simple, and you would not need much persuasive power to make people act.
While some might not see a problem with colleges discarding too much paper, for example, most are likely to agree that recycling is a good thing. Other issues are more controversial: some people see them as problems while others do not. For example, some believe that motorcycle riders who do not wear helmets risk serious injury and also raise the cost of health care for all of us, but others think that wearing a helmet—or not—should be a personal choice; you would have to present arguments to convince your readers that not wearing a helmet is indeed a problem needing a solution.
A solution to the problem. Once you have defined the problem, you need to describe the solution you are suggesting and to explain it in enough detail for readers to understand what you are proposing.
Sometimes you might suggest several possible solutions, analyze their merits, and then say which one you think will most likely solve the problem. You need to provide evidence to convince readers that your solution is feasible—and that it will, in fact, solve the problem. A response to questions readers may have. You need to consider any questions readers may have about your proposal—and to show how its advantages outweigh any disadvantages.
A proposal for recycling paper, for example, would need to address questions about the costs of recycling bins and separate trash pickups. A call to action. The goal of a proposal is to persuade readers to accept your proposed solution—and perhaps to take some kind of action. You may want to conclude your proposal by noting the outcomes likely to result from following your recommendations.
An appropriate tone. Readers will always react better to a reasonable, respectful presentation than to anger or self-righteousness. Choose a problem that can be solved. Large, complex problems such as poverty, hunger, or terrorism usually require large, complex solutions.
Most of the time, focusing on a smaller problem or a limited aspect of a large problem will yield a more manageable proposal. Rather than tackling the problem of world poverty, for example, think about the problem faced by people in your community who have lost jobs and need help until they find employment.
Most successful proposals share certain features that make them persuasive. Explore several possible solutions to the problem. Decide on the most desirable solution s. One solution may be head and shoulders above others, but be open to rejecting all the possible solutions on your list and starting over if you need to, or to combining two or more potential solutions in order to come up with an acceptable fix.
Think about why your solution is the best one. What has to be done to enact it? What will it cost? What makes you think it can be done? Why will it work better than others? Ways of organizing a proposal. You can organize a proposal in various ways, but you should always begin by establishing that there is a problem. You may then identify several possible solutions before recommending one of them or a combination of several.
Sometimes, however, you might discuss only a single solution. Identify possible Propose a Call for action, solutions and solution and or reiterate consider their pros give reasons your proposed and cons one by one. Anticipate and answer questions. To read an example proposal, go to digital. Such essays are our attempt to think something through by writing about it and to share our thinking with others. A reflective essay has a dual purpose: to ponder something you find interesting or puzzling and to share your thoughts with an audience.
Whatever your subject, your goal is to explore it in a way that will interest others. One way to do that is to start by considering your own experience and then moving on to think about more universal experiences that your readers may share. For example, you might write about your dog, and in doing so you could raise questions and offer insights about the ways that people and animals interact.
Some kind of structure. A reflective essay can be organized in many ways, but it needs to have a clear structure. Whether you move from detail to detail or focus your reflection on one central question or insight about your subject, all your ideas need to relate, one way or another. The challenge is to keep your readers interested as you explore your topic and to leave them satisfied that the journey was interesting and thought-provoking.
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